5,000-year-old ‘pig-headed dragon’ artifact discovered in ancient Chinese tomb

Chinese researchers have uncovered a jade dragon artifact inside a 5,000-year-old tomb. Archaeologists have uncovered over 100 jade artifacts in the ancient tomb belonging to a major Neolithic culture in Northeastern China.

The beautiful dragon that was just unearthed, however, is the largest example of its kind.

The “chubby pig-headed dragon” may differ from modern depictions, but it clearly originates from the Hongshan culture, a major Neolithic group in northeastern China, including Inner Mongolia.

The treasures from the Yuanbaoshan archaeological site in Aohan Banner, in the city of Chifeng, highlight these significant excavations, which aim to assemble “a comprehensive picture” of the foundation of Chinese civilization.

A Neolithic culture that was among the first people to work with Jade

In North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, a four-month excavation has recovered an impressive set of jade artifacts from the Hongshan, one of the oldest cultures to work with jade.

At 6.2 inches (15.8 cm) long, 3.7 inches (9.5 cm) wide, and 1.18 inches (3 cm) thick, this jade dragon stands as the largest of its kind discovered so far, adding to the collection of valuable artifacts from China’s ancient past.

According to an official press release by the People’s Republic of China, the precious artifact was found at a unique location featuring a circular tomb in the north and a square altar in the south. This is the first of its kind ever found. Excavations have also uncovered architectural and skeletal remains, along with jade and pottery items.

However, Live Sci ence reports that the jade dragon “is very nice but not that unique.” Apparently, dragons as large as this one have been uncovered, and researchers can’t claim it actually depicts a dragon.

“The variety of jade artifacts discovered fills important gaps in our understanding of this ancient civilization’s jade usage,” Sun Jinsong, the director of the Inner Mongolia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, explained (via The Independent ).

Furthermore, to China Daily , she called this site “ the largest late Hongshan Culture stone mound excavation in Inner Mongolia to date.”

Finally, and perhaps most significantly, jade-wear from an entirely different culture, the Lingjiatan, was also unearthed, which demonstrates that long-distance trade was happening at that time.

China’s rich prehistory

Connections made with other tombs indicate a shared belief system. In other words, this site, along with the 1,100 other Hongshan cultural sites, is telling Chinese archaeologists more about a group of people who make up the foundation of China .

According to many experts , Hongshan had a major impact on “the development of early Chinese civilization ,” as reported by The Independ ent .